With the launch of its all-new website The Children’s Centre now has a fresh look online. 

The location details remain the same - thechildrenscentre.org.im - but it’s now even more informative, easier to navigate and comes with a host of new features.

Foremost amongst those is the split between The Children’s Centre’s charitable activities – everything from outdoor activities with the MOBEX team, to the Douglas-based Community Farm – and its bespoke commercial activities, including nurseries, after-school clubs and the new development at Laxey Glen.

That clear division between the services has been designed to make getting around the website quick, easy and intuitive.

“When I arrived here just over a year ago,” says Chief Executive Fiona Dawson, “it was apparent that although The Children’s Centre had a powerful presence on the Island, it was sometimes unclear how many different things we offer to children, young people and families.   Our website had served us well for years, but the image – our image – needed to be refreshed, and I’m pleased to say the new one, from local design company Dot Performance, is everything we asked for.”

And there are some especially useful new parts to the site.  Parents whose children attend any of the five nurseries, the breakfast clubs, after school or holiday clubs can now pay the fees online at the click of a button, and there are new, easy-to-understand options for charitable giving, including a range of specially selected, and regularly refreshed, charitable gifts.

“We depend on the generosity of the Manx public to finance our charitable services, so with our new website we’ve come up with a new way to help,” continues Fiona.  “Our Charity Gifts include food for the rabbits at the Community Farm (£23) or £30 towards playground equipment for the Out 2 Play scheme, to name but two.  All supporters need to do is click the relevant link and make a payment via PayPal.”

Donations too have been made even easier to set up, from regular payments to legacies and one-off donations. And of course you’ll find all the information you need on the full range of activities offered by The Children’s Centre across the Island.

If you’d like to donate a regular sum then a dedicated page on the website allows you to become a Friend of The Children’s Centre for as little as £1 a month.  “This might not seem a lot of money,” says Fiona, “but even such a small sum could provide toys for children to play with when they’re at our Saturday Child Contact Centre, a vital charitable service which allows children to spend time with their non-resident parent.  And if you’d like to give more, either money or time, then the new website shows how you can do that too.

“We’re so pleased with this completely new site,” concludes Fiona. “And the best way to see just what we’ve managed to achieve is to take a look yourself. I’m sure people will be pleased and surprised to see just how much of a difference we make across the Isle of Man – and how vital the support of the people on the Island continues to be.”